How green is green

If I were to ask you what is the color of grass, or leaves, limes, and so on, you will say green, right?  Now go outside and look at each hue of green.  It will amaze you how different from each other they all are.  Our idea of "green" is a range in the spectrum of light that falls within a parameter we accept as green.  If it can be this beautiful with one color, imagine perspectives and emotions in a character.  


A much needed pause here.  You the actor must be aware, that does not mean your character necessarily is.  I don't want to see you acting.


Okay, and here is the exercise (as this art form is a sport which must be practiced daily). How does your character listen?  How does she interpret?  Is life a threat or an opportunity? Which part of daily life does that character let in, intentional or unintentional which affects their moods? How aware are they of that process?  How well do they know this? What are they protecting? (If you just burned your hand or something similar, think at the lengths you would go to make sure nothing touches that area.  Play an exercise where you are a worker doing a specific task and you are avoiding anything touching your hurt hand.  Think of how as people we do this all day long with our entire beings)


Imagine a colored gel over your eyes, a blue one as an example and look at the world, and see how it distorts.  Your characters area all holding gels like that over their eyes, and so are you. 

More Questions

Did I do something wrong?


When I am expecting an answer or reaction, will it be unexpected because I fucked up?


Does your character think he or she is always right?


Was your character delivering an authentic or influenced line?


Communicate the beautiful.  What is the mood of the scene, moment, or line? Your purpose.  There's a moment in "Contact" when John Hurts tells Jodie Foster, "wanna play?", that is an example of this concept.


Does your character hide his feelings?  The old cliche, it's all in the details.  Christopher Walken in the "Dead Zone" accepts a beer from the rich and powerful businessman.  It is a two second moment, and yet so much went into it. William Hurt, in the "Accidental Tourist," quickly smells his soup before tasting it. Meryl Streep and all the beautiful sighs in "Sophie's Choice..." Look for these in your favorite performers.


This is one of my favorites - one that helped me understand objectives. (how many times has a director or teacher shouted at you, "what is the objective of the scene" and you look dumbfounded) Ask yourself this: What are the dreams of your character.  What are the "ifs", that if they come true their dreams are realized?  What are the nightmares of your character.  What are the fears that ultimately create the struggle in their lives? Bring that down to the scene. I guarantee you will never look like a deer caught in headlights when the objective question is asked by your director or teacher.


Does your character "pick" words to communicate something about their feelings? A writer to his wife: "Have you read my little script?" How is that writer concerned or manipulating a reaction?


Here's a another famous teacher and director question. What is the subtext of this line or that line.  Once again, headlight straight into our eyes. I think the classic mistake has been to put the attention into ourselves and not into our scene partner.  Here's another rescue piece of advice: The subtext of your line is often a defense of your character's position in response to what he or she thinks was said to them. 

Questions anyone

When you are familiar with the script, down to every word on each page, you are then  free to be yourself in the role.  How do we get there? Ask questions. Lots of them. Your answers will change all the time. That's ok. Nothing is written in stone in this art. Don't be discouraged or confused by this.  There is no right nor wrong in an interpretation. It simply is and for all my "truth" and "reality" brothers and sisters, this is not about turning a performance into a brainy proposal.  I promise you that once you break every barrier from your illogical mind, the purest and simplest will flow forth.  What is the shortest path between "a" and "b"? A straight line.


Here are some of the many questions to ask yourself and I'll expand on these on a later post.  Think about the answers and think about the questions continuously while working on a role.  Sort of like a background software running in your mind. You will be surprised at answers popping up. Write it all down.  They are all precious gifts from your inner voice, coming from the artist within.


What is the tension of the scene?


What is the character hiding?


What is the author hiding?


What is the tension in the audience?


Are your answers in anticipation of something the character said, or based on something you think is on their minds?


How can the

 character hurt you?


What are the secrets of the story?


What is the history of the statement made by your character?


What weakness or blemish is your character hiding?

Who would play you?

Today you are to be a writer and a director.


You have been given a budget, crew, and actors. You are to film your life.  You auditioned the actors and found one that caught your attention. What would you tell this actor? How would he or she play you? Think of all of the generalities which you are certain are part of you.  Write them down.  (I love dramatic films, cry at the movies, get inspired by music, I am shy...) Think of all the details which you are also certain  belong to you. (no sugar in coffee, beer must be cold, like the smell of clean clothes....) Be specific and catalogue your day.  Every single activity. What were you thinking when you walked through the mall, drank coffee, spoke to your parents...how did you walk though the mall, drank coffee and spoke to your parents? Pick one of those moments and shoot it with your imaginary actor.  A simple task.  You walked out of the mall and went to your car.  Did you avoid looking at others? Did you smile at strangers? Were you thinking of your bills? Only you know - now, explain it to the other actor, in detail.  Look at how simple and yet how empty it can be, as so much has gone into who you are.


Your entire life has gone through you and your visions of the  future create or destroy your hopes and dreams.


This is the exercise.  Pick a sequence from you day, one in which you remember clearly everything you did, felt, thought, EVERYTHING,  and perhaps others around you.  Write a verbatim scene or sequence, script it.  Pick the actor or actors that will perform your scene.  It is not about an Oscar performance. Observe how they fall short or nail it.  Maybe one will surprise you  and elevate the performance.  This will  teach you to seek truth in characterization because you know the truth this time, unequivocally, as you are shooting a scene that no one knows better than you.

It's not about me, it's about you.

For any given day, write down as much as you can remember, every single word or statement you have told those around you, whether family, friends or strangers.  It is important to be detailed in your notes, but its okay if you paraphrase a little. At the end of the day, go through your notes. (you might find it easier to write everything down before going to bed, or be a maniac and write it right after the conversation or incident).  Now here's the hard part. Imagine how the other person heard you? It is hard, because it is not how you intended them to hear you (more often than not), but if you were the other person, what did they hear?  When you said "good morning" to your spouse, lover, child, co-worker...what did they hear?  Be THEM and imagine your voice tone, attitude, EVERYTHING they might have interpreted from your message.  The longer your relationship, the more precise or interesting your analysis will be. 


In short: take a moment to think how your words are heard by others. What signals did you really send, unintentional or intentional.  Go over entire day conversations where you are the other person and you are listening to yourself.

This exercise I recommend as a daily routine to be kept in a journal. It will teach you to play out of yourself into your scene partner(s).  It will teach you to breakdown scenes, entire scripts, and re-focus the manner in which you prepare for a role.  So many times I see very talented actors and not so talented actors, scripting reactions, deliveries, and emotions which are so illogical to the scene, but important to their artistic self-indulgence.  This exercise will help you break those habits.